Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt

Written by descendant Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, Fortune's Children traces the dramatic and amazingly colorful history of this great American family, from the rise of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt to the fall of his progeny - wild spendthrifts whose profligacy bankrupted a vast inheritance.

Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor

The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne.

The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess - In Her Own Words

Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home: Blenheim Palace. The ninth Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era.

The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home

Overlooking the Thames, the Cliveden mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion - from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the 17th century to the 1960s Profumo affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor's current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking.

Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, Margaret Powell’s classic memoir of her time in service, Below Stairs, is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high. Powell first arrived at the servants' entrance of one of those great houses in the 1920s. As a kitchen maid - the lowest of the low - she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and bootlaces to be ironed.

To Marry an English Lord

From the Gilded Age until 1914, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles - just like Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the first of the Downton Abbey characters Julian Fellowes was inspired to create after reading To Marry An English Lord. Filled with vivid personalities, gossipy anecdotes, grand houses, and a wealth of period details-plus quotes and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette - To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.

Servants' Hall: A Real Life Upstairs, Downstairs Romance

Margaret Powell's Below Stairs became a sensation among listeners reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre's hit television series Downton Abbey. Now in the sequel Servants' Hall, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald.

Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid

Mollie left school at age fourteen and became a scullery maid for a wealthy gentleman with a mansion house in London's Knightsbridge and a Tudor manor in Norfolk. Even though her days were long and grueling and included such endless tasks as polishing doorknobs, scrubbing steps, and helping with all of the food prep in the kitchen, Mollie enjoyed her freedom and had a rich life.

Jackie's Girl: My Life with the Kennedy Family

In 1964 Kathy McKeon was just 19 years old and newly arrived from Ireland when she was hired as the personal assistant to former first lady Jackie Kennedy. The next 13 years of her life were spent in Jackie's service, during which Kathy not only played a crucial role in raising young Caroline and John Jr. but also had a front-row seat to some of the 20th century's most significant events.

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters

The eldest was a razor-sharp novelist of upper-class manners; the second was loved by John Betjeman; the third was a fascist who married Oswald Mosley; the fourth idolized Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain declared war on Germany; the fifth was a member of the American Communist Party; the sixth became Duchess of Devonshire. They were the Mitford sisters....

The Bettencourt Affair: The World's Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris

Was the world's wealthiest woman - Liliane Bettencourt - heir to an estimated $36 billion L'Oréal fortune, the victim of a con man? Or were her own family the real villains? This riveting narrative tells the real-life, shocking story behind the cause célèbre that has captivated both France and the world.

Victoria's Daughters

Vicky, Alice, Helena, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an era: Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would curiously come to share many of the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by 19th-century women of less-exulted class.

Climbing the Stairs

From the grand houses of Brighton to imposing London mansions, life as a kitchen maid could be exhausting and demoralizing. It's not just being at the beck and call of the people upstairs, when even the children of the family can treat you like dirt, but having to deal with temperamental cooks, starchy butlers, and chauffeurs with a roving eye. Marriage is the only escape, but with one evening off a week Margaret has no time to lose.

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly 60 years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the 19th century with a 21st-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades.

The Housekeeper's Tale: The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House

The Housekeeper's Tale reveals the personal sacrifices, bitter disputes and driving ambition that shaped these women's careers. Using secret diaries, unpublished letters, and the neglected service archives of our stately homes, Tessa Boase tells the extraordinary stories of five working women who ran some of Britain's most prominent households.

The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women: A Social History

The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress, of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife, when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes's Emmy Award-winning PBS series, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants: Lady Almina, the fifth Countess of Carnarvon. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war.

The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s

1936 was a great year for the movie industry - the financial setbacks of the Great Depression were subsiding, so theater attendance was up. Americans everywhere were watching the stars, and few stars shined as brightly as one of America's most enduring screen favorites, Mary Astor. But Astor's personal story wasn't a happy one. Born poor and widowed at 24, Mary Astor had spent years looking for stability when she met and wed Dr. Franklyn Thorpe.

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey, a transporting companion piece to the New York Times best seller Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, tells the story of Catherine Wendell, the beautiful and spirited American woman who married Lady Almina's son, the man who would become the 6th Earl of Carnarvon.

Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England

When the sixth Earl Fitzwilliam died in 1902, he left behind the second largest estate in 20th-century England, valued at more than three billion dollars in today's money - a lifeline to the tens of thousands of people who worked either in the family's coal mines or on their expansive estate. The earl also left behind four sons, and the family line seemed assured. But was it?

The Mistress of Paris: The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret

Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was painted by Édouard Manet and inspired Émile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future King Edward VII kept gossip columns full. But her glamorous existence hid a dark secret: She was no comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid backstreet among the dregs of Parisian society. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress.

Snobs

Edith Lavery, the pretty daughter of an accountant, meets gossip-column favorite Charles Broughton (Earl of Broughton and heir to the Marquess of Uckfield) at Ascot. When he proposes and she accepts, does she really love him, or is she merely dazzled by his title and money?

Behind Closed Doors

The life of the Duchess of Windsor came to an end in Paris on 24 April 1986. She was almost 90. Many people assumed that she had died years before, since she disappeared from public view for over a decade. Sebastian Faulks wrote in the Sunday Telegraph, ‘She is seen as no more than the star of an old romantic film that most French have forgotten. ’But the world did take note, describing her death as the final curtain on one of the greatest love stories of the twentieth century. Embers of the feud between the British Royal Family and the Windsors in exile were fanned once more....

The Whole Truth and Nothing But

From the dawn of the studio system to the decade it all came crashing down, Hedda Hopper was one of the Queens of Hollywood. Although she made her name as a star of the silent screen, she found her calling as a gossip columnist, where she had the ear of the most powerful force in show business: the public. With a readership of 20,000,000 people, Hopper turned nobodies into stars, and brought stars to their knees. And in this sensational memoir, she tells all.

Publisher's Summary

In 1928, Rosina Harrison arrived at the illustrious household of the Astor family to take up her new position as personal maid to the infamously temperamental Lady Nancy Astor, who sat in Parliament, entertained royalty, and traveled the world. "She's not a lady as you would understand a lady" was the butler's ominous warning. But what no one expected was that the iron-willed Lady Astor was about to meet her match in the no-nonsense, whip-smart girl from the country.

For 35 years, from the parties thrown for royalty and trips across the globe, to the air raids during World War II, Rose was by Lady Astor's side and behind the scenes, keeping everything running smoothly. In charge of everything from the clothes and furs to the baggage to the priceless diamond "sparklers", Rose was closer to Lady Astor than anyone else. In her decades of service she received one 5-pound raise, but she traveled the world in style and retired with a lifetime's worth of stories. Like Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, Rose is not only a captivating insight into the great wealth "upstairs" and the endless work "downstairs"; it is also the story of an unlikely decades-long friendship that grew between Her Ladyship and her spirited Yorkshire maid.

Only Rosina's employer. I was very excited to give this a listen, despite what I've always heard about Lady Astor, and I was not disappointed by the narrative at all. Rosina is an honest, salt-of-the-Earth voice, and I found her charming throughout.

What was most disappointing about Rosina Harrison’s story?

Even after all I'd heard, I was fully prepared to give Lady Astor the benefit of the doubt, no one could really be so bad. Wrong, she was worse. Between the chilly treatment of her children, the cat shooting, and the unending stream of verbal abuse, "I want to break your spirit, Rose," I have seldom heard of anyone more spiteful, petty, and mean spirited in my life. I think Rose, or any of the staff mentioned throughout, must have been the soul of patience to have dealt with the ill tempered witch for so long.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably when Lady Astor tried to kick Rose (no joke) and Rose made a grab for her ankle to tip her over. I thought it was an incredible pity that Rose missed, the image of Nancy Astor @$$ over teakettle in the floor would have been one to cherish.

Any additional comments?

If you can get past sweet Rose's sour-puss employer, the story as a whole, and the behind the scenes peeks at the life of a Lady's Maid in this era, are really fascinating.

I've been an avowed Anglophile all of my life, so I thought this would be right up my alley. Almost immediately, I remembered something I'd heard as a child as told by one of my father's great aunts. I always thought she was crazy when she referred to Lady Nancy Astor as "a classless, poor white trash racist". Clutching my imaginary pearls, I was shocked and appalled. And remained "verklempt" for many decades, only to discover that there was a lot of truth in my own family lore about Nancy Astor.

Author and Astor maid Rosina "Rose" Harrison doesn't reveal where "the bodies are buried" in this ponderous tome. In fact, her "brown-nosing" of her "betters" is a bit over the top. While I can forgive her for not throwing Nancy under the bus for the most part, Rose seems to be clueless as she co-signs on her employer's inappropriate behaviors and language. I understand that this all took place during a much less politically correct time, but Nancy (I refuse to call her "Lady" any more) thought it was cute to make overt fun of her friends, family, the disabled, and other races and cultures. A bit a side research informed me that Nancy was actually the daughter of Virginia slave owners who lost their fortune after the Civil War. My father's ancestors were Virginia slaves and later domestics in wealthy Washington DC and New York City homes - being the requisite preferred "high yella" complexion to work in the best circles. My father's "Aint" Bessie likely got her insider info from working in homes where the Astors frequented. I would have thought Nancy would have learned some common "home training" after marrying a British lord and herself becoming a member of Parliament. However her undercover manners belied the alleged philanthropic contributions she is known for. And her maid Rose was as crass and insensitive as her mistress. I usually don't get upset by the use of the word "nigger" in books where the literary value outweighs the racial epitaphs. But Nancy (and Rose as a compliant supporter) was just nasty and hateful. No amount of British veneer could mask her "Papa Whiskey Tango" racism and meanness towards those less fortunate, no matter their race or ethnic origin. It was obvious that she had never bothered to interact with an African American person her life, instead preferring to call them "nigger" every chance she got. Nancy was nothing more than a bog Irish golddigger.

Author Rose Harrison showed me that there is a big difference between a "slave" and a "servant". The former is a state of being while latter is a state of mind. If she could have pulled her head out of her mistress' rear long enough to learn more of the world around her, this could have been a good book. As it is, it's merely a waste of money. Not so much time because I could only stomach about 1/3 of the thing before I had to put it down. This is not "Downton Abbey" or "Upstairs Downstairs". It's more like a very bad "Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte" with 2 scary old white women trying to one-up each other in their own insular world. Nancy Astor comes off as unstable, like a person with a lesion on her frontal lobe. As "Aint" Bessie said "That cow didn't have the sense that God gave a chicken!". That's a lot of farm animals when describing a "Lady". Sad.........

After watching a marathon session of Dowton Abbey I needed to fill my 'fix' of Upstairs/Downstairs relationships. This book truly hit the mark! I had heard some stories about Nancy Astor in the past and this book truly does a superb job of illuminating her larger than life character while modestly describing resiliant and endearing Rose, Nancy's Lady's Maid. This book also examines their 30+year relationship in an intriguing and beautiful way. i loved this book and I'm off to read it again! I'm also looking for more stories that illustrate how people lived in the Aristocracy with their maids and butlers, especially where there is a true respect and personal relationships have formed.

Yes, it had a very interesting point of view at a particular time in history.

What did you like best about this story?

Both of the ladies personalities.

What three words best describe Wanda McCaddon’s voice?

Rich, interesting, rushed...

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, if sets were well done.

Any additional comments?

Loved the reader's voice, but hated the editing of it. It was a quicker pace, but sometimes had nice pauses in between paragraphs. Other times it was one long rush of words after another. Quite exhausting, really. Her intonations and voices were excellent and I would like to try her again under another editor/director.

I absolutely would because Rose so genuinely loved Lady Astor and loved being in service. It was never a rich vs poor, haves vs have nots, rather a story of 2 women who were best of friends whether they could acknowledge it or not.

What did you like best about this story?

The way Lady Astor would say "shut up Rose". I would laugh out loud at this and I am sure Rose learned to as well.

What does Wanda McCaddon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?